Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti

Jalal al-Din Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr al-Suyuti (849–911 AH), a memoriser from Egypt who wrote prolifically, and author of "History of the Caliphs". ¹

He says in "History of the Caliphs" that his father was imam to the second caliph al-Mustakfi and wrote out for him the deed of the caliphate, and that he grew up in the house of the caliph. ¹

In his biography in "Shadharat al-Dhahab", his father died when he was five years and seven months old. He finished the Qur'an before the age of eight, then memorised "Umdat al-Ahkam", the "Minhaj" of al-Nawawi and the "Alfiyya" of Ibn Malik. ²

He began learning in 864 AH, and read with a group including al-Shams al-Surami and al-Taqi al-Shamni, and attended al-'Ala al-Bulqini and al-Sharaf al-Manawi most closely. His pupil al-Shadhili relates that his teachers numbered 151 persons, and that his works exceeded five hundred. ²

For events he relied on "al-Masalik" and its appendix, then on "Inba' al-Ghumr" by Ibn Hajar up to 850 AH. He consulted the "History of Baghdad" of al-Khatib and the "History of Damascus" of Ibn Asakir and others. ¹

When he reached forty he devoted himself to worship, gave up issuing fatwas and teaching, and stayed in the garden of al-Miqyas. He returned the gifts of the amirs, among them a thousand dinars from al-Ghawri. ²

Shadharat al-Dhahab relays a report from his servant about a miracle; it is a narrative attributed to its narrator, and we have not verified it.

Among his works is "al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur'an". ³